This thesis offers an interrogation of specific terms within Acousmatic Music leading to
the redefinition and application of analogous notions within listening, viewing, creation
and analysis. These analogies between disciplines refer to comparable ideas within
creative practices, transferring and adapting terminologies from one discipline to
reinforce the creation and analysis of my own painting practice. As such the ideas are
similar, comparable or equivalent but the terms introduced from Acousmatic Music
theory are placed in the altered painting context. The analogies involve production
similarities including comparable application of source collection, gesture making and
manipulation of materials in both disciplines. Further analogies include corresponding
use of levels of reduction within creative practices and parallels between listening and
viewing. The central modes of thinking invoked are adapted from Acousmatic Music,
namely Modes of Listening, Spectromorphology and Surrogacy. These core ideas will be
interrogated before adaptation and analysis within my painting practice. My central
contribution is identified through my own painting practice, with the newly applied
theory proving to be useful throughout the advancement of my practical research. The
potential for a wider contribution to knowledge will be pursued as a result of the research
within this thesis. My focal methodology involves the employment of terminology
transferred from its original context. The research developed in stages: identifying and
interrogating the relevant terminology, adapting the terminology for transference into my
painting practice, testing the newly applied terminologies through my practice and
reflecting upon the practical developments in turn informing the written thesis and
reinforcing my research project. The newly developing theoretical knowledge informed
my evolving practical work, which in turn fed into the understanding of the theory and
the contribution to knowledge. This methodology was at the forefront throughout my
research, constantly developing my knowledge and advancing my practice. My practice
involves painting that incorporates source identification and remoteness, focussing on the
identification of a process of reduction within the work. This investigation informs the
creation of a redefined understanding of painting with an emphasis on applied energy,
gesture and movement. Alongside this part of the thesis and integral to my contribution to
knowledge is a body of artwork that stands alone as a self-contained exhibition, but that
also responds to my theoretical developments concerning the creation and viewing of
paintings. There are three points of focus within my thesis with regard to my painting
practice, namely the development of Modes of Viewing, Spectromorphological Thinking
and Surrogate Orders. The collated research is employed within a case study of my
painting ‘Renouvellement’, demonstrating the integration of my newly defined modes of
thinking within the critique of my own practice. The study tested and evaluated the
effectiveness of my research showing the practical application of the terminology and
reinforcing my contribution to knowledge. A more thorough consideration of my creative
methodology is provided through a text included in Appendix H entitled ‘Practice
Methodology’. This text outlines the development of my practical work from initial
planning stages through to completion. I have set in place an organised methodology for
painting discussion and for practical application within the painting process, fulfilling my
intention to develop a concise structural foundation for the development of painting
knowledge both for the artist and the audience.